Topics in German Literature - Small Narrative Forms: Anecdote, Story, and Novella

Since the late 18th century small narrative forms such as the novella, the anecdote and the case story have enjoyed increasing popularity among the readership and gained increasing importance for the field of narrative genres and the development of techniques of narration. What is at stake in the poetics of these forms and how can we describe their specific possibilities, functions and achievements? The seminar explores these questions in readings of texts ranging from the late 18th to the early 20th century.